Acts 9 x The Presence ft. edify+Elevate

Order Christine at 9, you think?

Okay, yeah.

He had to for the Academy. Yeah, something else is different though, not just—

huh?

No, I'm going to have to leave out at some point to order some pizza.

So to order some pizza, and in case I want to talk to the chat, I can do it from back here.

Hello?

Did you even eat your food?

No.

Yeah, what is this?

Tacos?

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

All right, so we want to pray. Um, one thing I like, I like about here is that we lock in very quickly. Um, I feel like the Lord is ready to do something And the way we find that out is by prayer. So if anybody's trying to discern what the Lord is doing, audio is good on YouTube.

Just begin to ask the Lord, my ears are open, my heart is open, my mind is open.

Can you take the posture of somebody ready to receive?

Open hands, open hearts, open minds. Can you take the posture of somebody ready to receive, like a child ready to be carried. He throws his hands up and waits for the father to lift him. So Lord, we are preparing our hearts, we are preparing our hearts, we're preparing our minds, we're preparing our voices to lift up the name of Jesus. There's no other name worthy There's no other name that man shall be saved apart from the name of Jesus. At the mention of his name, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So Lord, you are who we seek tonight. For our Bible says that the seed of Jacob would never seek you in vain.

For our Bible says that we should seek ye first the Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added.

So Lord, we are looking for you. We're not looking for a man. We're not looking for good melodies. We're not looking for a good sermon. We're looking for Jesus. Can somebody begin to seek him with me? Seek him with all your strength, all your heart, and all your mind. Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Seek him early.

I'm looking for Jesus, the author and the finisher of my faith. I'm looking for Jesus. I'm looking for Jesus. What a God, what a God. I'm looking for Jesus. I'm looking for Jesus. This is Holy Week. This is a moment of anticipation of what was promised for centuries, that through one man sin came, but through one man sin can be destroyed. This is Holy Week. This is a march to Calvary. This is a march towards the promise that Abraham couldn't have, that Moses couldn't have, is a march towards a promise that we are privileged to enjoy in this new covenant. I want to see Jesus. All that I have is Jesus Christ and him crucified. There is nothing else that I offer you. For there's no name, no name greater than this. There's no name, no name greater than this. We are looking for Jesus Christ of Nazareth. If anybody is confused by another Jesus, we are talking about this Jesus, this Jesus whom they crucified. Can this Jesus be preached to you? You have one assignment tonight. Feel the love of the Father. Put all of your energy into being loved right now. Put all of your energy in being loved. That's all you need to do. You don't need to work. You don't need to yell. You don't need to scream. You just need to receive what he has already given you. I receive the love of the Father because from that place of being loved, I can find joy, I can find peace, I can find patience, I can find all of the fruits that we will discuss. But that entry point is love. I don't care who decided not to love you the way they were supposed to. I'm telling you, Jesus loves you the way you ought to be. I don't care who has fallen short in giving you love, whether mother or father. I'm telling you that Jesus' love never fails. I don't care if situations is making you feel unloved. If you step into a room where Jesus is, in that room only the fullness of joy? Can you receive the love of the Father? Can you focus all of your attention on just being loved by him? Can you be like Mary and sitting down at the feet of the Savior, be satisfying enough for you. Bring your alabaster jar and say, there is nothing that my Father does not deserve. I give you all of me.

I give you all of me.

And you spend a few more minutes just being loved by the Father. You don't know how to be loved by Jesus? Let me give you a few points. Remember that he died for you, and there's no greater love that a man can have but to lay down his life for another. Jesus did that for you. Receive that love. You want to know what it feels like to receive the love? Scripture says that he so loved you that he gave his only begotten Son, that he who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. You receive that eternal life, stay right there. You are being loved. If you want to know how much you're being loved right now, the Bible says that mercy rules over judgment and love covers a multitude of sin. If you are sitting in this room and your sins are forgiven, remember that you are loved. Now, can you receive the love of him who has given all for you?

Can we continue to bless the name of the Lord? Father, thank you for your love. Continue to give him the fruit of your lips. Worship him. Give him adoration. He deserves all glory, honor, and praise. Reflect on this week, Holy Week. Father, thank you for the life that you laid down. Thank you for paying the price that we couldn't afford. Thank you because you didn't just die for me. You died for him. You died for her and her and him. Thank you, Lord, for dying for all of us. Thank you because you are a good God. Thank you because you rose again. Thank you because the veil was torn. Thank you for being our High Priest. Thank you because you are a mediator for us. Thank you because we can come before the Father boldly. Thank you, Heavenly Father. We worship you. We love you. We say thank you again and again. May we never get tired of saying thank you.

You've been faithful, Lord. From thy ages past. That is why your name is forevermore. You've been faithful, Lord. From thy ages past. And that is why your name is forevermore. You've been on the throne from thy ages past. And that is why your name is forevermore. You've been sovereign, Lord. From thy ages past. And that is why your name is forevermore. So Hosanna. In the highest, let our King be lifted high. Hosanna. Lift your voices. Hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Let our— Hosanna. Hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Let our King Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Let our King. Hosanna. One more time. Hosanna in the highest. Let our King in. Hosanna! The one you've saved has come to worship you. The one you saved has come to worship you. The one you've saved has come to worship you. The one you've saved has come to worship you. Sing, Savior, Savior. Savior, Savior, Savior, Savior, the one you've saved, the one you've saved has come to worship you. The one you saved, The One You've Saved has come to worship You! Sing Savior— Saviour? —Savior... Has Come To Worship You!! [MUSIC]...Has Come To Worship You!!! [...] Sing savor!!!! Savior, cry out Savior. Savior, you're our Savior. Savior, the one you saved has come to worship you. The one you saved has come to worship. Sing, the one you saved has come to honor you, has come to honor you. The one you saved has come to honor you. The one you saved We've come to honor you. The one you've saved has come to honor. You came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, My debt to pay. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift your name on. You came from heaven to earth to show— from the earth, from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift your name on— Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord, I— Lord, I love to sing your praises. <LYRICS>I'm so glad you're in my life. I'm so glad you came to save us. Sing, Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord, I love to sing your praises.</LYRICS> <LYRICS>I'm so glad you're in my life. Lord, I'm so glad you came to save us. You came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth</LYRICS> My debt to pay. From the cross, from the, from the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift your name on high. To see you high and lifted up. Shining in the light of your glory, pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy, high and lifted up. You're shining, shining in the light of your glory. Sing, pour out your power and pour out your holy, holy. Sing, high and lifted up and lift Lift it up. Sing shining, shining in the light of your glory. Sing pour out your power and love. Holy, holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy. Sing holy, holy, holy. Sing holy, holy, holy. From the depths of our hearts, God. Holy, holy. There's no one like you, Lord. Holy, there's none beside you, God. Sing, I want to see you, I want to see you, I want to I need to see you. I want to see you. I want to see your face. I want to see you. I want to see you, Father. I want to— I want to see you, Master. I want to see you, Savior. I want to see you. There's no place I'd rather be, Lord. I want to see you. Better is one day in your courts. See you. I wanna see you. I want to see you. 'Cause I'll never know how much it costs to see. I'll never know. How much it cost to see my sins upon that cross. See, I'll never know, I'll never know. You paid it all for me. You paid the cost. Sing, I'll never know how much it cost to see my sins upon that cross. So here we are to worship. Here <LYRICS>We're all together lovely, all together worthy, all together wonderful to sing. Here I am</LYRICS> Here I am to— let him hear your voices. Your people are crying out. Here we are, Father. Here we are, Lord. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy. All together wonderful too. One more time. Here I am, Lord. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. We're all together.

We're all together.

Lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. 'Cause who is like you, Lord, in all the earth?

Are there some worshipers in here?

Matchless love and beauty endless worth. You don't need a microphone, it's inside of you. Nothing in this world can satisfy. Jesus, Jesus, you're the cup that won't run dry. Who is like you, Lord, in all the earth? I feel faith rising. Matchless love and beauty, endless worth. I'm desperate for him. Nothing in this world can satisfy. Nothing in my job, nothing in my home, nothing in my workplace.

Jesus, the author, is Jesus or nothing. Is Jesus or nothing.

All my days on earth I will await. Oh Jesus, that moment when I'll see you face to face.

That glorious moment.

Because nothing in this world can satisfy. All I want is Jesus. Jesus, you're the cup that won't run dry. Your presence, you can experience heaven on earth.

You don't have to wait to get there to be there. You don't have to, you don't have to get there.

Your presence is heaven. Everything you need, everything you can imagine.

If you're looking for joy, it's there.

If you're looking for peace, it's there. Your presence is heaven to me. It's a revelation that you've ascended on high.

You are not here anymore.

You at the right hand of God.

Your presence is heaven to me. Oh, your presence is heaven to me.

You can only worship him in his presence.

Anything you do outside of his presence is heaven and in truth to me. I hear some intercessors.

There's somebody next to you that needs your prayer.

Your prayer.

There's somebody in this room that needs your Intercession.

Will you be quiet?

We are waiting for you to speak.

Oh God, your neighbor is there and you are commanded to love him.

You are commanded to love her.

Your neighbor is right next to you and they need your intercession. They need your intercession. —your presence, Lord; All I want to be... There's nothing like Your Presence, Lord; —All I wanna see You! Is there anything else we can do?...there's nothing like Your Presence, Lord; All I want is to worship you. There's nothing like— there's something about Your presence, Lord! All I want is to be with You. There's nothing like Your presence, Lord! All I want is to worship you. Nothing like Your presence, Lord! All I want is to be with You. There's nothing like Your presence Lord, all I want is to worship you.

If you got a voice, you should use it right now.

Cuz I'm so in love with you, therefore, my brother, you're beautiful, so beautiful. This is a reason of worship. I'll fix my eyes on you. Cuz you're beautiful, so beautiful. Oh, I'm so in love with you. You're beautiful, so beautiful. Oh, I'll fix my eyes on you, 'cause you're beautiful, so beautiful. So with just one look, everything changes. I'm captivated. I'll never be the same. With just one look, everything changes. I'm captivated. I'll never be the same. With just one look. Everything changes. I'm captivated. I'll never be the same. With just one look, everything changes. I'm captivated. I'll never be the same. I want to be tried by fire, purified. You take whatever you desire. So Lord, here's my life. I want to be tried by fire, purified. You take whatever you desire. So Lord, here's my life. If the altar's where you meet us, take me there, take me there. If all you need is just an offering, it's right here. My life is here, and I'll be a living Sacrifice for you. You're a fire, the refiner. I want to be consumed. I want to be tried by fire and purified. You take whatever you desire. So Lord, here's my life. I wanna be tried by fire and purified. You take whatever you desire. So Lord, here's my life. Arms wide open, pouring out my life gracefully broken. Here I am, God, arms wide open. They're open to you, Jesus. Pouring out my life, gracefully broken. Lord God, we say thank you. Thank you, Lord.

Say thank you. Somebody help me thank God.

Thank you. Thank you.

I need more help than that.

I need more help than that.

Hallelujah! For the last 3 months, the Lord has kept you in this 2026 year.

Hallelujah! Oh Lord, we thank you.

I just want to read a line of scripture to open this up, and then I'll sit down.

My goal is to talk very little tonight and let the Lord speak. I'll use an example. This is my first time meeting you. She's worshiping with a microphone because this agenda that we come with does not mean that the Lord didn't have an assignment for her.

And who are we to say, I just met you, the Lord can't use you?

I wouldn't be the one. So if you have a word, if you have a scripture, something the Lord has put on your heart, this is his house and he's your father. Amen. I want to read from Luke chapter 1, verse 19.

This is also off script.

And this was a powerful moment in scripture where the Lord didn't just send any angel, he sent the Archangel Gabriel.

And Luke chapter 1 and verse 19 says, and the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.

Somebody say amen. Amen.

So my question is, if this angel has an assignment to be in the presence of the Lord, The angel of the Lord's presence. And now this angel just went to visit somebody.

What do you think that angel came with?

The Lord's presence. Meaning that the manifestation of the presence of God comes when he himself wants to speak to people. And I believe This night, his presence is here, and he's here to speak directly to you.

So I pray that you receive that with meekness and humility. That who are we that he is mindful of us? That he will send the angel of his very own presence to share with us these good tidings. I guarantee you one thing you will hear tonight: you will hear good news in the name of Jesus. So, Lord God, we love you, we bless you, we thank you for all that you have done, all that you are doing, and all that you will continue to do. Father, as we enter into the word, may the word enter into us. May it take root in the name of Jesus. May it bear fruit in the name of Jesus. May we not just be hearers of it in the name of Jesus. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forevermore, until Christ comes. And the church said, amen. Amen. I can borrow that back. Thank you. So if you have your Bibles, I mean, they're already open. God bless y'all. I'm going to step back and I guess I'm going to introduce myself. I'll let Kirsten introduce herself and then she's going to take the floor. I'm P.O. I am a servant leader at the tent and our mission is simple. We're here to practice the presence of the Lord. That's it. Practice his presence and make disciples. Um, this is our 9th week studying the Acts of Apostles. So we're studying Acts all year, all year, verse by verse by verse by verse. And today is the 9th chapter, and then you're going to see how this all ties in. Um, I just pray that God opens your hearts to receive what he wants to say. And I pray that when we don't have words to say, we stay silent. I pray when he does not give us anything to say, we shut up. I pray that he takes control. So I'm going to pass it over to Kirsten to lead us. Praise God.

Praise God. Hey, y'all. Hey, it's heavy, but it's a good heavy. Ain't he good? Well, I am Kirsten. I am the leader and the founder of Edify and Elevate. And so we are a faith community that curates biblical curriculum for those that, regardless of where you are in your walk, this curriculum is curated to be intentional and impactful. When you have that time with God, a lot of times, you know, reading the word can be very intimidating. Sometimes it feels like a task and a chore, right? And that's a normal feeling to have, right? Especially if you're newer in your walk. And I love studying my word. And when the Lord snatched me up and my husband and my friends and stuff like that, I dove into the word deep and I, I found a deeper understanding of of the Lord. And so I love making that time intentional, right? I love getting my music and my blanket, and my husband will see me curled up in my— in my— I got this one chair where I'm studying the word. And so I want others to also love studying the word. And so that's what our curriculum does, that regardless of where you are in your walk, um, the Bible study workbooks that we create are, are different exercises and activities that walk you through making that word something more enjoyable and something that you look forward to rather than being like, oh, let me go ahead and crack it open. It's like, no, like that should be a space that feels like a date with Daddy, right? And so that's what we do. And so the last 4 weeks in our study, we've been gathering virtually. Hey, y'all, some of y'all in there, some of y'all streaming. Hey! We've been gathering every Tuesday at the same time, um, and we've been walking through the fruits and cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit, right? A lot of times we, we can— and we, we go down the list of the fruit and say, Lord, help me with love, help me with patience. But has it been cultivated? What does your heart look like? How is that soil for the plant, the seed to be planted, which is his word? And so we've been walking through through what cultivation looks like. And cultivation is essentially this intentional process of preparation for, for ground to be prepared for there to be a harvest, right? You can't go to that, that, that lot next to the alley that ain't been touched, throw a seed and expect for there to be a harvest, right? It needs to be plowed. And that's the same thing that needs to happen in our hearts. Right? Especially as believers. And it's, it's an ongoing thing. It's an ongoing thing. And it's not something that we have to do on our own. Jesus does that for us, has done it for us, right? In order for there to be evidence, which is fruit, that we're even connected to him, right? And so that's what we've been talking about the last 4 weeks. And it's been super, super powerful. And so we've walked through each week. And this week why we're here, why our community is here, why the tent, um, has allowed— has graced us, and it's an honor to be here, um, is the last week is the presence, right? That after that fruit seed has been cultivated, how do we abide? The expectation is that we abide, that we dwell, that we're living, that we are remaining in his presence. And that is what the tent and this community and, and what the Lord has done for you all is all about. And so P.O. said I'mma lead, but I don't know what you want me to say after that. I think we're going to read through the text, right?

Okay, so, um, we're going to read through every verse of Acts chapter 9, and we got two microphones up there. Um, we're going to read it and then we're going to digest it for a little bit, and then the Lord is going to reveal some things about the text to each and every one of us. And it is our heart's desire that we allow the Lord to minister. So if you can, turn with me to Acts chapter 9. I'm reading the New King James Version in case everybody get tripped up following me. New King James. Anybody reading the KJV in here? Say amen if you're reading KJV. Now you know who they are. You know who they are. It's down, it's down. They hate the KJV folks. God bless though, that comprehension is holy. All right, Acts chapter 9, we're gonna read verses 1 all the way to 43. This is a stretch, so take a deep breath. Acts chapter 1— I mean chapter 9, verse 1. 1, 2, 3, go. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked— keep reading— and suddenly a light shone around him.

Heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And then the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want from me?

Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city and and you will be told what you must do. Without sight.

Disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, here I am, master. So the Lord said to him, arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision Jesus came and named Ananias so that he might receive his sight.

Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.' And Ananias went his way and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road that you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight.' And before filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once. And he arose and was baptized.

So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus, and immediately he began to preach the Christ and to testify that he is the Son of God. to pass, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not even know that he was a disciple. But Barnabas and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out, and he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. And the Jews in this city were very attentive to him. Him. But the brothers found out, and brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Then the church was all throughout all Judea, Galilee, Samaria, and Phoenicia and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of this country, Here he found a certain man named Aeneas.

Tabitha. What? What? Tell y'all later. Which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her and they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, 'Tabitha, arise!' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all of Joppa And many believed on the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon the tanner. May the Lord bless the reading of his holy word. So y'all probably wondering why we laughed at Tabitha. So we were playing a game of Jeopardy, and every time, for like 3 times, you had to guess the name of somebody in the book of Acts. And every time we kept guessing Tabitha, it was not Tabitha. It was not. And Brittany was so sure at some point, like she bet all her Martha, it's Tabitha, it's Tabitha. So now Tabitha, our best friend at this point, because she gave us some great joy. So we're going to break this down into 3 segments. We're going to have verses 1 to 14. Then we're going to go from 15 to— let's do 15 to 30. And then let's do 31 all the way to the end. So it's 1 to 14, 15— 1 to 14, 15 to 30, and then 31 all the way to the end. So in this segment of— Acts chapter 9, verses 1 to 14. Um, what are we hearing? Take a minute, digest it. I'm gonna go grab your microphone. All right, all right, you, you win.

Oh, okay. Well, this is just a comment.

I feel like the first verse kind of just is very like, I don't know, caught me off guard. Not off guard, but like uttering threats with every breath. He was gonna kill the Lord's followers, like every breath. Like, like how deep in, like, I'ma kill them, like I didn't— I do not care. My whole life, every breath, they're gonna die. Like, I feel like to me that was like kind of just like a Like, just, yeah, like the intenseness of how much he did not believe this. Like, I don't know. That's all I have to say.

Yeah, I think that's a great way to start. This man was a murderer. Can you— I need somebody to help me run these microphones. Yeah, that one works. This one, Mercedes. This one right here works too. Sorry, you paying for that. Your name, please, and then share your name just so we can—

Oh, my name is Kwee. And what caught my attention, I'm jumping down to verse 9 when he said, and he was 3 days without sight and neither he ate nor drink. It just was interesting because he was like almost forced into a fast. So like God kind of forced him into consecration in a way. To, um, yeah, so that's kind of what I was thinking.

So he went from being a murderer to being a faster— there's a— so all right, let's just sit in between those two verses. What, what has to happen from you to go from being a murderer to now you going through a season of consecration in nine verses? Somebody say, the Lord can do it. Y'all want me to answer? All right, definitely.

So I honestly feel like it was less than 9 verses as you uttering he possessed, and then all of a sudden he find himself encountering God on the street in verse 3, down on his knees looking up, and he blind. So what that said to me was like, regardless of where somebody is in their in their lives, they can find themselves encountering God at a moment's notice, and then everything can be different. Everything is changed. And to answer your question, it's that divine encounter. It's undeniable. As sure as we know our hearts beating right now, we know that God is real in that moment when we meet him and he meets us wherever it is that we are at. So the first 3 verses was, was that for me. Amen.

Um, um, something that always stuck out to me, um, was in like the fourth verse where it says, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He didn't say, why do you persecute the Christians? He said, why do you persecute me? And so each and every one of us, as we are believers, we represent Christ in this world. And so it's not him looking at the people, but he looking at it as if it was himself.

If I wanted to jump in here, I loved how you started off with, with every breath he was eager. To kill the Lord's followers. And Pio just blurted out, this man was a murderer, right? But like, how did Saul get there, right? I think that that is important because no one in here is a murderer, but there are— there's traits.

There are 3 verses for you in the name of Jesus.

Come out, up and out. But like, how did Saul get there, right? Like, who was Saul? And in my studying, we know that he was a Pharisee and he did not play about the law of Moses. And later on, it tells us where he's from. In verse 11, a man from Tarsus named Saul. And so if you study Tarsus, Tarsus is, is this place where it is very— they were deep in philosophical teachings, Greek philosophy, and specifically Stoicism. And they were like diehard about their— it was like black and white basically was their philosophy, like focus on the things you can or can't control. Like that's— so he was a Jew. He practiced Judaism. But this is where he grew up. This was their culture. So he's going to the store, he out playing as a kid, and other— this is conversation and this is a part of his life. And we see that a little bit in Saul's personality. He was very black and white, even after his conversion. We read in Romans, he's very practical when he talks about Jesus and the word of God, right? And so we, we see this, um, when you study about where, where he's from, and then how does he go from that to being a murderer, he did not— he thought Christianity was dangerous. He thought Christians were, were goofies. Like, Jesus the Messiah, like, that's a false prophet. Like, y'all doing too much.

Like, y'all, y'all really—

like, that's why he felt as though it was necessary to purge them. Like, he's like, y'all are this way. The way is not the way. And so when you understand a little bit of of Saul's background and his culture and how he grew up and how his personality was and how God still used his personality after his conversion, it gives you an idea of how he ended up being this— with every breath was eager to kill the Lord's followers, right? And so I think that that's important, especially in our study where we've been talking about where we led with the plow, right? The plow that needs to to happen. Saul had a hard heart. He thought he was doing the right thing. Whole time he thought he was like, God, I know you pleased with this. I know you pleased. I'm doing your work, God. I'm doing your work. And whole time he was blind. He was spiritually blind so much that he thought it was necessary to torture Jesus. And we know it was Jesus because he says, why are you persecuting me? And so I think that that's really important when we think about where we were before, right? Jesus saw he was living on tents, like I said, he was a murderer, but there was still hardness, and we were hard before that there was a— before there was a plow, before Jesus turned— let me turn over that, that old ground so that there can be fresh soil before I plant my seed. Yeah.

I have a question and a thought.

The question is in verse 5, why do we think he responded like that? Uh-oh, somebody— who are you, Lord?

Like, I know you're Lord, but who are you?

I'm curious on people's responses here, and then I want to circle back to verse 6, but I'll wait till we get that question answered.

And then we got another mic for Genesis.

Yep. I'm sorry, but the whole time I was thinking about verse 5 when she was talking. So you saying that just like really went there. Saul was a man of authority. So even with him saying, Lord, who are you? He submitted himself under that authority because he knew authority within what he did. He, you know, was with the priests and all of that. So he submitted himself immediately after he knew who he— he knew it was a higher power speaking to him. So he had no choice because he's a man of authority.

See, before we go there, like, that's good. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. I'm going to put a pin on that. All right. Genesis, if I talk in—

oh, you can hear me if I talk into this. I thought this was just for the internet. Now we tech savvy. I love it. I love it. So verse 5 was listed out to me as well. And it's just that if this was Saul's relationship How is it that he recognized who the Lord was? So that's one question. When I read it, it's like as soon as he saw this figure, he immediately recognized and said, who are you, Lord? Like, if you don't believe, then how do you recognize that that's him? So that was one thing. And then on the flip side is why would Jesus choose to reveal himself to a person like Saul. Yeah. So many people said like, Lord, show me your face. I want to see your face. And they— I mean, even us, we desire to see the Lord face to face. And yet he chooses to reveal himself to someone who's murdering or trying to murder his disciples. So it's also— it's like a double-edged sword. The other thing, while we're right in this little pocket, is when the Lord— when Jesus addresses him, he says, Saul, Saul. He says his name twice. He's trying to get his attention. And so it's like— it's like he's jolting him, like, Saul, Saul, like, wake up, wake up. And then from this exchange, like, the Lord does not babble on. He only says a few words. And that was enough to shift Paul's entire perspective regarding his belief concerning Christians. Like, he didn't say a whole bunch, and that, like, it quick— the whole situation quickly changed. There wasn't a bunch of exchange unless they just left it out in the Bible. Like, the Lord just said, Jesus just said this, and it was like, boom. Like immediate, you know? So those are a couple of thoughts.

Like, I'm going to take one of those and I'm going to let somebody else take another one. So she asked, how did he know that that was the Lord? And I just want to give us one clue, right? What was the first thing that God created in Genesis? Who said what? I thought somebody— okay, then what came next? All right, then once you go back to John, John chapter 1, right? John chapter 1 said, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. When you read enough of the Old Testament, you understand one of the descriptors of God is light. The Bible says that he even dwells in an unapproachable light. Now, Paul was well-read in the Old Testament scriptures. His teacher was Gamaliel, which was the teachers of teachers. He had the best Old Testament seminary money could buy at the time. It was still head knowledge, right? But when we talk about cultivating that fruit and that heart posture, It was as if the moment he seen it, all of his theology began to make sense. At that moment in time, it's like once you read enough Bible, once you see Bible, you know Bible. So him in this situation now seeing that indication of light in heaven, this— he— Paul was very intelligent. He began to add 1 1. I believe 1 1 2. And then from there, his journey began. Um, John, the internet folk, y'all need to get in the room. Y'all slowing us down.

All right, so get in here.

I just say I would even submit to you that there is still a process of Saul. I'll say Saul at the time because he's still Saul. He's still becoming aware of what's happening. So he gets blinded from a light. And if you put yourself in that perspective, if you want to roll to go do something you feel like you're doing for God and then out of nowhere, this amazingly bright light blinds you, you're going to be like, this can only be from God. So right now you recognize, like, all right, something miraculous is happening. And then he says, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he like, wait, hold on, Lord, I thought I was doing this for you. So going down further, you start to see the introduction of Ananias. And so in the time of him being blinded and him being led to go meet up with Ananias, Ananias is then gonna give him what he's now been introduced to. Because he says, go now, go, because I have somebody who's going to show you what you must do. And Ananias, you see him like, hold on, this is the dude that's been trying to kill us. You sure you want me to get a gospel to him, like teach him what to do? So I know, baby girl, I understand that he is having a miraculous transition to understanding that this is something that is beyond my comprehension. But he not really get what you want to say. He, he, he is through time starting to understand who God is, and he's going to allow people to also download the gospel to him and kick him that knowledge so that when he leaves Ananias, he gonna have a fire that he didn't have before because his understanding is now connecting with the reality of like what Jesus has deposited in them. We can't forget Brittany.

We said circle back.

I just real quick, I wanted to— that was eloquently done.

Y'all just hammered that home right there.

That was beautiful. But I wanted to kind of circle back to something that, as Deja was explaining about Jesus communicating, hey, why are you persecuting me, right? It just brought to my remembrance Matthew chapter 25. Yes, sir. Around verse 31, he's communicating, separating the sheep and the goat. And he's saying, if you did this to the least of these, you did it unto me. And, and I think it's important to realize that a lot of times, you know, whoever claims the name of the Lord and we have his Holy Spirit, we become only a vessel for him to move through. And it's like, if you want a visualization, it's like a network. And there's one server to this network, and we're all interconnected. So By us, you know, committing an offense against our fellow brother and sister, by default, because he dwells in us, the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we're also committing that sin against our brother and sister. That's why we have to be careful not to war against flesh and blood and see each other as the enemy and understand and discern the spirit that is operating and flowing through a person. So I just wanted to show and just kind of say that He does a great job pointing it out because that's exactly it. And it's consistent through all the scriptures, is that when we do this to our sister and our brother, we do the same thing to Christ. So we should be mindful of that. That's it. Glory be to God.

Pastor Asia.

Well, once upon a time, I had something to say about verse 5. No, but I agree with what everybody said. And in thinking about him, one thing I was curious about was him being like, who are you, Lord? It's like you stated who I was, but everybody explained that. One thing that came to mind was that sometimes that's how we are. Sometimes it takes us to be encountered by the Lord because we have so much head knowledge, we're puffed up with knowledge that nobody else can get to us. We think that we know more, we think that we have more experience, and sometimes it takes a direct encounter with the Lord. And I believe that's why the Lord would even encounter him like that, especially seeing that he did have a level of influence. It may not have been the most positive influence. People knew who he was because when the Lord told Ananias to go to him, he was like, no, no good. Like, not him of all people. I go to anybody else. And so, you know, sometimes, um, we are being encountered by God because he has better use for us. Instead of the Lord just watching us go down this negative path and going to hell You know what I mean? Why not? If I love you, his love is the way that it is for us. So why not I encounter you so that you can repent and turn in a different way and you can use that for me? And so that's what, that's what was coming to mind. I was trying to hold on to the title.

I, um, I don't like sitting down, but, um, God is so good. So real quick, It's actually okay.

Just to add on to what you just said, I don't remember what song it is right now, but there's a song and there's a lyric in it that says even God can like turn a dormant seed into a harvest or something. And I feel like that goes along with what you were saying.

And I want to quickly balance this because like this is such a, like an amazing turnaround story. But sometimes God's mercy and his judgment They stand at two ends of this podium, right? The mercy that God just showed Saul— why didn't they show Ananias earlier in Acts when Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit? See, sometimes God wants to make an example of both his mercy and his judgment. You best believe, choose which side you want to be on. Like he wants to make an example. I'm both merciful and I'm still a judge. Saul got the mercy and Ananias got the judgment. And then he will use another person with the same name to bestow mercy on Saul.

See, this God, you don't want to mess with him.

The way he writing this story, you just best believe, play your part and sit down.

Yeah, because what— all right, I'm done. Yeah, I'll also— sorry, really quickly— add just Romans 1:19 says that God reveals himself to everyone, that nobody on this earth will have an excuse that, oh, I never— I— when he come, well, Lord, I didn't know. Yes, you did. He reveals himself to everyone. So what does that mean for us? How do we respond? How do we respond when— however that you might not be a bright light and he making you blind and smack you on the ground. Might not be how it was for Saul, but however it is for any— it might be you reveal— like revealing God to somebody else in your family. How do they respond? What is the condition of their heart? What's the condition of our hearts when he reveals himself to us?

Can I— can I just say something really quick? Um, I'm sorry, but Romans 1:19— I'm sorry, I was watching this, um, podcast and she was basically going through like God's the way, the truth, the life. And while she was talking about the way, I'm just gonna write down what I wrote. She said creation itself's answer to the content completion in everyone's heart that there is a God. Creation points to a creator. In our hearts is to then know the creator. And then she talks about like the humility of your hearts So just better be— better know him or else, you know. Yeah. Okay, real quick, I'm just going to get this out. Verse 6, when he tells Saul to now get up and go to the city and you will be told what you must do. I just found it fascinating that like between verse 4 and verse 6, In verse 4, Saul is down on the ground in a surrendered, submissive posture, and he could have stayed there, right? He could have let the weight of what he had done crush him and feel condemned by that and feel like he wasn't worthy to move from that place. But like, immediately God told him, now get up and go, I have something for you. You to do. And he didn't delay in that. He got up and got busy. Like, verses later, we see that, like, he immediately started preaching. And so I think that is also just a lesson to us, is like, sometimes we can let shame and condemnation and, like, guilt stop us from feeling like we're worthy of doing what God is telling us to do or holding the calling that he has on our life. And He was a murderer and in 3 verses completely shifted. And so I think that is just a note for us. Like, there is no— there is nothing that you can do that supersedes God's love for you and how he wants to use you. And so keep that in mind.

And then just go ahead. You got— you have to. Please, we all ears now.

So I'm real big on like the details. So the question, it was, who are you, comma, Lord? So even when he experienced that, it was still this question of like, is that you? And it's like, we go through situations where things will happen. God will reveal himself. We like, all right, show me something else, God. If it's really you, show me something else. But going back to the light part, when you think about light, exposes darkness, it exposes shadows, it brings the truth. And in that moment, he was experiencing the, the lies being exposed and everything that he believed before being exposed. And we all have light within us. So as I think about going around friends that aren't living how they're supposed to, or family members who aren't living how they're supposed to, allowing the light to shine through us and expose the lies expose the truth and essentially be a part, a conductor or trigger to them being saved and being exposed to God's ultimate light. I think that was a powerful—

that's just a powerful scripture. Yeah. Yeah. Preaching gospel requires exposing darkness. Let me just say that. But what Brittany was saying as well with the with this concept that like Paul is a, you know, he was in this sunken place. And just to draw like a parallel so that we can all find ourselves in this story, like everybody always wants to be the hero. But, you know, when Jesus was teaching, he said, if you hate someone in your heart, you have committed what? Murder. So we would like to be like, well, I'm not bad as Saul. Well, have you hated anybody? Do you currently hate anyone? In the archives of heaven, there is a description for that. It's called murder. And if the Lord can do that with his situation, the hate that we harbor, best believe he can turn it around too. Like, I just wanted to share that there are some— there's some people we just don't like, you know? And I feel like the world right now wants to make it easy for us to hate people. And we have to resist that as hard as we can, because that hate, it will always lead to the destruction of life. We're going to take 2 more and then we're going to have to go into the next section of Scripture. I mean, we stay, so we just— just to let y'all know, don't get bored.

Um, yeah, so this is really speaking to me. Um, I guess the intensity of Saul's conversions from Saul to Paul, um, how dramatic it was. Um, the thing he pointed out to me was, uh, it reminded me of Isaiah Isaiah 6, when Isaiah seen the Lord seated high in the year that King Uzziah died and noticed the train of his robe and his majesty and everything was magnificent in his eyes. And when the Lord says, you know, who should we send? And he says, and he says, here I am, send me. So just experiencing God's presence, seeing his His majesty and being exposed to that birthed obedience and submission. And I see similarities in both of those stories. Same thing with Paul. He noticed God. He was exposed to God in a very dramatic sense. And all of a sudden, he was now a servant of God. So we see that when we're in God's presence, there are utilities. That are at our footstool where we can gain submission and obedience, things that we may be lacking or things that we may be waning in. So I noticed those type of similarities. So there's things in God's presence that we can receive such as those things. So that's why I kind of see no similarities. So, and presence is here.

So let's do Genesis and then we'll go— we'll start back at 15 to— and— okay. Oh, you got it. Yeah, do it in Genesis and then we'll—

okay. Um, this is kind of going back to her question when she was like, um, why would God reveal himself to him when other people are like on their face like, God, reveal yourself. And I think it's almost God like kind of showing off. Like, because if I have somebody who hated and persecuted and a murderer, like, if you're looking at a Mary who's going around giving blessings to everybody and flowers and cookies, and then she stands up and proclaims the name of Jesus, it's like, okay, yeah, I expect you to do that. Like, you are full of God's love. But when we talk about our testimony, like, we're overcome, like, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. So it's just like, if I can get someone who persecuted and murdered to turn their hearts. You cannot deny that I am Jesus. You cannot deny that I am the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, because I have gotten someone who murdered people to turn their hearts and start proclaiming my name immediately. So it's just kind of like, it just gives— it just shows God's mighty power to say, I am who I said I am, and you are going to believe this on today through this man's testimony. So that, that's just what I, what I had.

That's good, that's good, that's good. Yeah, let's take it to Genesis and then we'll go to 15.

Cool.

The other thing that stood out to me is, um, the exchange like from verse 10 to 15 with Ananias. And I was listening to this on my way here, what kept kept hitting me was the story of Jonah. And I was like, what does Jonah have to do with Acts 9? But as we were sitting here, the Lord just kind of showed me it. We can have a zeal for wanting people to be converted. We can pray into conversions. So there's a role for people that are not saved. But then there is a role that we play that's similar to Ananias. For us to be a disciple, which is to listen to what the Lord is saying, to know his voice, but then to also be obedient beyond what we are comfortable with or our own preferences. And so you kind of see Ananias like going back and forth with the Lord over what the Lord is telling him to do because it goes against his his own perspective or comfortability. And I feel like we can fall into that bucket as disciples. Like, if we came across somebody today, we saw them and they didn't look like, you know, what we think somebody should look like, you know, why would we go and try to witness to that person or listen to what the Lord is telling us to do to witness to this other person? And if the Lord says, hey, that's who I chose, we just we have to be obedient beyond, beyond what we believe or know. And so this reminded me, like in Jonah, when the Lord is telling him to go in and free the people or give a message to the people of Nineveh, and Jonah does not want to go. And he goes and he goes and does what the Lord asked him to do anyway. And afterwards, Jonah says, I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, that you are slow to anger, that you are abounding in faithful love, and you are one who relents from sending disaster. Like, there's something about the character of God that defies our own logic or reasoning, even if it goes against how we think that things should go. And so while there are Sauls that don't know the Lord and need to be converted. There's also disciples that need to have hearts that are tender, that know the Lord's voice, but are also obedient beyond our own comprehension.

In a sense, it's like, what, what would you do if the Lord sent you to your enemy? That person that you refused to talk to for the last 6 weeks? What if the Lord said, go there? That, that uncle that you just can't stand, what if the Lord told you to go there? You going?

It's so, it's so interesting that you even just brought up what would you do if the Lord tells you to go to your enemy, because two Sundays ago at church, our apostle was talking about the shadow armor bearer. And he was just basically saying how when we're in the world, we're so skilled with our worldly weapons and we're born with, you know, there's two armies, Army of God, then, you know, the kingdom of Satan. And so he basically was like, until we decide to side with God, we have a shadow armorer who begins to hand us weapons to be able to tear down our enemies. And he was saying, like, when we're in a space of wanting to use those worldly weapons on our enemies, we need to stand in a posture of prayer and praise for them, because then that begins to, like the word says, confuse the enemy. So I'm using heavenly weapons now to combat the situation instead of allowing the enemy to now hand me the weapons to to be able to tear you down and to shoot arrows and things at you. So it's interesting that you say that because that's what we were talking about at church. So, um, being able to change the trajectory of that, even though you're an enemy per se, I'm still going to pray and I'm going to praise for you. And my mentor made a good point. She said if there's a person that you dislike you take them into your prayer closet and you work for them like you work for yourself, and you begin to pray for them until you get to a point of they— you don't— you no longer have that disdain for them because you have now laid them on the throne and you're standing in a place of as if you're standing for yourself.

So that's really what I wanted to say, but we went there.

I think a perfect transition to, um, Acts 9:15, um, is us acknowledging first that there was a level of surrenderance that Paul had to do, um, that Paul did, that even though he probably thought he had surrendered for real, for real, like all the way, cuz he was that— he was so devout in, in his love for God that he thought he had— he couldn't surrender no more. But hold time he hadn't. And so for us, what I like to do and what we do a lot in our studies is I like to bring just practicality to these stories, because Saul was a real human. And so he had to, and he is processing even while he's blind. And Jesus is saying, um, he praying to me right now, Ananias. Like, I know you— I'm talking to you, but I can hear him praying to me right now. And he's praying to the one that he didn't even like revere or honor, you know what I mean? And so there's a level of surrenderance that I think that we also need to do. And that's why I said like the plow is like a continuous thing, because that hardness can, can build up where we don't want to go to that uncle. We don't want to go to that person. We don't even want to pray for them. I've been where I'm like, I love you, Lord. I'm I fast, I do all these things, but I ain't going to pray for them. I don't even want to think about them. And it's like, okay, no, that's some hardness in your heart. You haven't fully surrendered. Or in surrendering, we keep— we're using these words, but surrendering is literally giving up what your flesh wants to do. My flesh don't want to pray for you. My flesh wants to, uh, keep unforgiveness in my heart towards you. My flesh wants to do that. Surrendering is giving up what what feels good for what is actually good, right? And so that is what we see Saul doing, is like, wait, he— poor Saul, that baby was probably confused out of his mind, um, and had to process these things over time. But I just wanted to acknowledge that prior to a part of his conversion was true surrenderance of what he thought was right, what he thought he was doing the right thing, but it was not. Yeah. I feel like I saw somebody.

I don't know who behind you, but y'all both moved the same as Khalilah. I'm going to— don't forget what you're saying. I just want to push us towards the next segment because we didn't even get to 15 yet.

Yeah.

Well, 15 to 30. Like, the thing that the Lord just keep asking me is just like, what happened if Ananias would have said no? Would have found somebody else. So like, even in this act of obedience, this was a privilege for Ananias, and he's in scripture because of his yes. Like, this is just a series of yeses, and the only way that you can align with God's plan and will and purpose from where he begins on the road to Damascus, the role that you play in it comes with your yes. So if you keep saying no, you will find yourself out of the will of God and you don't want to be there. So as we meditate on that, 15 to 30, what's the Lord showing and revealing to you? And we'll start with Galilea because she might be a bridge, but 15 to 30.

Okay, I feel like I'm gonna stand. I can't really see anybody, so I'm just gonna—

okay, here I go.

Hi everyone. Okay, so something that I've been thinking a lot about and something that I think really illuminated in this verse, because I have not really read the Bible before like that, um, and I intentionally wanted to— I knew who Saul was going to become just by like foreshadowing, but I wanted to wait until until we were all together for me to read it for the first time on my own, just to see like what specifically sticks out. Do you guys ever think about how incredibly easy it is to judge people and how impossible it feels to forgive people? It's so easy to be like, oh, what's she— uh, uh, and as opposed to like truly accepting that somebody did something and then forgiving them. I think part of that, and I think what Paul, Saul's story emulates, is We're very bound by time. It's this like perfect chain that we created for ourselves where like you can only do certain stuff at a certain time of day. You can only eat certain foods at a certain type of day. You can only go to bed at this time, wake up at this time, get your work done within these specific hours, drive in this amount of time. Time is incredibly important, right? But A, our God is a timeless God, and B, the undeniable fact that test time, and that proves that we are the sole creators of that and we keep ourselves in that, is that each and every one of us were born children of God, we will die children of God, and we will continue to live on as children of God. It's infinite, you know what I'm saying? So like, my main thing with this is like, I think it's easy to judge people because you're looking at the person that's standing in front of you, or you're looking at their potential to do you dirty in the future, or how they were really good to you in the past and now they suck for some reason and now you guys are fighting. But God doesn't look at us that way. He didn't look at Saul that way. If he did, he wouldn't even looked at him. Look at all the stuff that he was doing. As we emphasize, this guy was a murderer. He was killing people. He was killing people. And God still said, yeah, he's the one. Why? Because he was looking at him as an individual, as a person, as a disciple. And as we all work to be more in God's image and to think about things the way that he thinks about them, I think it's important that we don't let time and the people that used to be and who they are now and who they might be in the future cast judgment onto that person because of that. Because we made that up. That's not in God's will. Time is, I don't mean to be like, ooh, but time is literally made up. So I just think it's important And it gives me a little bit of peace of mind when I try to think about how I'm going to approach forgiveness of my enemies or people that have wronged me in the past. And I just think that that's who they are. The same way that your mistakes and your shortcomings and your joys and your sufferings and your just incredible things that happen to you don't define you. What defines you is your relationship to Christ. That's not bound by time. That's not bound by— he doesn't say, oh, well, last week, Lila, you only prayed 2 times, so now you're going to— I'm going to match that with— he doesn't care. He just cares that you come to him, that you humble yourself before him, that you talk to him, that you worship him. Like, that's what matters. And so I think, yeah, I think Paul is just a really, really good thing of that.

I'm going to sit down now. You can go.

Oh, um, something about Saul and God. What I'm learning is that like God has a plan for all of us, and sometimes he just be on his by any means. Like if, if he knows how necessary we are to his kingdom we saw that divine interruption. But I think the reason why it was so necessary for Ananias to go— and in 15 it says, 'This is my chosen instrument,' right? Something about Paul soon that we'll all know is that he wrote like 13 books of the New Testament. Right? He essentially is the one who wrote the doctrine that we believe in. He wrote the grace message. He wrote the book of Romans and taught us what propitiation is and, you know, what it meant that we were reconciled back to God. Like, God used him as that instrument. But we also have to think about, like, his redemptive power in that if Paul or Saul was a Pharisee and he was trained under Gamaliel, then he was trained by one of the most masterful rabbis at that time, which means he was a disciple of that, which means he was extremely intelligent. He probably was already writing, he probably was already super strategic, he already had that fire in him, and God still needed him to redeem those things and just use them for the kingdom of God. So I believe that in that period of time that we hear that he's praying to God, sometimes we think prayer is only us talking. It's a two-way conversation. He's blind. He has to go through a period where he has to be trained by the voice of God too. The fact that God even, or Jesus even you know, let him know that there's going to be a man who's going to come and he's going to restore your eyesight. So he's not sitting there lost. Like, Jesus doesn't encounter us to leave us lost, right? He encounters us so that we can come into a knowing of who he is. And when we know him, we know ourselves. And then he gets the fullness out of our faith, which then is whatever he's called us to do. So I say that to say there's a lot in y'all already that the Lord has already planted in you that is going to be redeemed for the kingdom of God. But he uses us in environments like this to see something. I see something in Destiny, I see something in Mercedes, I see something in, uh, Galilea. I— and I'll be telling him what I see. So when you see something in people, sometimes you have to be Ananias and you gotta speak up Because while God is talking to them, you're affirming them.

That's good. Another mic.

Um, so ditto. I think we have to look at where Saul was too. This was earth-shattering for him because for his whole life he was serving a different God. And I think there's something that we need to see in that too, because sometimes I feel like we think we're really serving God, but we have to really humble ourselves and ask, are we actually serving him? Because he, with his full being, knew he was serving God, but he wasn't. So I think that's one thing. So that was answering the question of who are you, Lord? This is the first time he's ever meeting God, and he thought he'd known him his whole life. So then throwing him into this time of darkness, and he's fasting. This is the first time he's experiencing God, and he's— he's thought he known him his whole life, and this is the first time he's experiencing him. And I feel like in this time, God has truly emptied him in a way that was necessary because when he says he's a vessel of mine, meaning there's nothing of him that could be in him anymore for him to be used by God. And he's a vessel of mine and he will bear my name. So there's nothing of Saul, there's not— he's not on a tirade for Saul anymore, he's on a tirade for himself. He's gonna be doing all of what he's been doing for me. He's a vessel for for me, he belongs to me. So like the capital my and the capital my name, like that's what I see in 15. And just showing him in this small period of 3 days without seeing and without eating and really like becoming small, it's a small picture of the suffering that you're going to have to do. For my sake. And then one thing I wanted to mention about Ananias is it wasn't just like, he's my enemy. Saul was killing people, and Ananias was going to him. He's like, he could kill me. So it wasn't like, oh, I don't like him. It was like, I could go to this man and he could kill me.